bigglesfandomcom-20200215-history
De terugkeer van Hawk (Vandersteen comic)/plot
Biggles is about to get married to Helga Anderson. he hands Colonel Raymond his resignation, telling him he is looking for a quieter life, such as is possible with Helga. Biggles is right to have doubts. Helga is at home when a delivery man calls with some flowers. He pulls out a gun and kidnaps her. Helga is brought on board a yacht. A man there who calls himself "the Skipper" tells her he is from Hawk. They have reorganised since the blow Biggles had dealt them and are stronger than ever, and they have plans for Biggles. The skipper forces Helga to write Biggles a note. Biggles is puzzled and can't believe what it says. She has another man and can't decide who to marry, so she has decided to go on a long journey. Biggles shows the note to Raymond and goes out into the streets of London to ponder its meaning. At a bar, Biggles is approached by a man who mentions the name "Helga" to him. Through him and other intermediaries, Biggles is eventually brought to meet with a man in Hyde Park where he learns the facts. The man is from Hawk. In exchange for Helga, they want him to join them! There is a supersonic fighter being developed by the government which can take off vertically and travel underwater. Biggles is to deliver the plans. After that Helga would be freed. He woluld be richly rewarded and would then get other missions. Biggles wants an assurance that Helga is safe. The man produces a walkie-talkie. Helga is on the other end. She tells him it is for him to decide but she urges her to go on a hunt. (Note: the Dutch word for hunt is the same as for yacht. This hint from Helga would thus carry more meaning in the original.) The man gives Biggles a week to carry out his mission and they would get in touch with him. Back in his hotel, Biggles ponders Helga's words. He knows Helga would take every opportunity to hint at where she is being held. But where he normally went for a hunt would be too far for a walkie-talkie to reach. So what else could Helga mean? Biggles visits his friend, Jenkins, who is the head engineer at the Experimental Aircraft Centre. He explains that he has retired from the police and now does a magazine column on aviation. Could Jenkins tell him anything about the new fighter they are developing? Jenkins says the project is still secret but he would forward Biggles' request to his superiors. Jenkins leaves his office for a while and Biggles springs into action--opening Jenkins' safe and photographing the plans of the fighter. Biggles has a narrow escape when Jenkins comes back a little too soon and finds him in the document room but Biggles manages to talk his way out. Biggles manages to deliver the film of the plans and soon receives a reward plus an invitation to a dinner party given by Mac Giles, a rich shipowner. At the Mac Giles party, Biggles spots a Scotland Yard detective, Thomsen, working undercover, among the guests. He tells Mac Giles about this and this impresses the tycoon who feels that Biggles can now be trusted. Mac Giles brings Biggles into his office and tells him he wants just one more mission from him and then he would give Biggles a peaceful, well paid job in his company. Hawk is interested in space and wants all the information about the latest space projects. Biggles says he wants to talk it over with Helga first. Hawk had already anticipated that and so Mac Giles links Biggles up with Helga by a close circuit TV. They talk for a while. Biggles hopes for a hint about her whereabouts and he gets it when Helga asks if he had been pursuing his favourite hobby of waterfowl hunting. Biggles thinks this is significant and a clue he can work on and so pretends to agree that they should join the Hawk organisation. This satisfies Mac Giles. Back outside at the reception, Biggles manages to have a discreet word with Thomsen. There is a wire going out from the CCTV screen in Mac Giles' office. Could Thomsen discover where it led? Helga could be at the other end. Thomsen agrees but is unfortunately caught in the act by Murphy, one of Mac Giles' bodyguards. Murphy wants to eliminate Thomsen but Mac Giles has another idea: he passes Biggles a gun and wants him to the killing. Thomsen and Biggles know the game well--Biggles fires a near miss. Thomsen pretends to be hit and falls out of the window and plunges into the moat. Mac Giles and the others are impressed. Leaving the party, Biggles hails a taxi and is surprised to find Thomsen! He had swam out of the moat and switched places with a cabbie. Biggles convinces Thomsen not to say anything about the incident or else Helga's life would be in ddanger but Thomsen says he can only give him 24 hours before he has to report to Scotland Yard. Back at his hotel, Biggles ponders Helga's words. Twice she had spoken aboout a hunt. He tries studying a map of his hunting spots without much luck. Then he sees a picture of a boat on the wall and realises that (in Dutch), a hunt is jacht, the same word for a yacht. Mac Giles has a yacht named the Windhunter. Time is short. Biggles rushes to the harbour. The yacht is indeed there. He steals on board. The boat looks deserted but Biggles is soon discovered by Randolf, Mac Giles' secretary. There is a brief exchange of fire. Biggles hits Randolf but Mac Giles has been alerted. He locks himself and Helga on the bridge and ties up Helga's arms behind her. Mac Giles' crewmen come back on board the yacht and Biggles is outnumbered. But Mac Giles has his own problems: a police boat is approaching! The Windhunter hastily casts off and heads for the open sea. The police boat fires a shot across the bows and Mac Giles orders his crew to return fire from a machine gun hidden on deck. Biggles surprises the gun crew and lock them up: he wants to avoid a major sea battle. He then signals to the police boat. On the bridge, Helga sees Biggles on the roof above them. She needs to find a way for Biggles to break in so she throws herself against Mac Giles, knocking him from the helm. Biggles seizes the chance to crash in through the window. There is a violent scuffle on the floor between Biggles and Mac Giles. The ship owner reaches for his pistol and a shot goes off. But Biggles stands up. Mac Giles has shot himself. The police boat comes alongside and Colonel Raymond steps on board. Raymond tells Biggles he had been shadowed for a while and Jenkins had been suspicious about the telephone incident and had called the Yard. Raymond had linked Biggles' behaviour to the disappearance of Helga and had initiated a search. A delighted Biggles tells Raymond that he and Helga planned to go on a honeymoon as soon as possible. Raymond laughs and suggests that a ride on a police boat was as good a weddinng cruise as any. Category:Plot summaries (derivative works)